Pass out this poster to your employees and discuss the benefits of focus and concentration on productivity using the ideas in the article.

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The article makes a decisive case from a bottom line profits viewpoint for eliminating personal workspace in favor of open space (basically tables and chairs) where employees work while at the office.

Not having to provide private office space for workers who travel extensively or who do most of their work remotely is understandable. This category includes traveling sales professionals, consultants, part-timers, temporary help, workers who share jobs, and people who telecommute. 

The WSJ article makes an argument for the open space office arrangement by citing open spaces:

• Use less real estate – this is a definite cost saver.
• Reduce email traffic – this may or may not be the case. The theory is that more conversations take place face-to-face. Face-to-face conversations consistently take more time than a properly done email so the reduction in email may not be a time saver.
• Encourage face-to-face conversations – this is good unless the face-to-face conversations contain too much socializing and unnecessary discussions.
• Result in more creativity – employees discuss projects face-to-face and brainstorm solutions to problems together. Group discussions, whether using Internet tools or huddling in the office, do increase the discovery of creative solutions. This kind of brainstorming can easily be achieved in a scheduled meeting.
• Enable stable headcount and salaries – companies are spending less on real estate therefore they don’t have to cut headcount or reduce salaries. This increases stability for workers but does not consider the concentration factor in productivity. 

However, as a productivity expert and consultant for 20 plus years, I am compelled to make the case that a comfy chair and a table alone are not conducive to the kind of breakthrough productivity that moves organization forward. Even people listed in the categories above who are not in the office every day,  need an environment where they can concentrate and produce while they are at the office.

Visualize this: An employee is working on a quarter of a million dollar deal, deliberating how to position their organization for a healthy profit margin, or looking for a creative way to solve an angry customer’s problem. As this employee tries to concentrate, he must endure invasive personal conversations, irksome habits of a coworker sitting a foot or two away, irritating cell phone rings, or interruptions by impromptu group meeting of exuberant employees – all problems from the viewpoint of the employee concentrating and using all of his brain cells to solve a problem.

To reduce the effect of these problems, the open space requires rigid enforcement of new policies. The WSJ article cites new rules for office etiquette which include using your ‘indoor voice’, no sneaking up, and no loitering. 

Indoor voice? Will this mean the person on the other end of the line will wonder why I’m whispering?

No sneaking up? As if sneaking up were possible in an open room where nothing obstructs your view from one side to the other except people.

No loitering?  What characteristics distinguish a group that is loitering versus a group that is collaborating on solving a logistical problem, brainstorming on how to sell a billion dollar project, or engaging in conversation when the only outcome is team building?  Who is to decide which employee group is collaborating on a monumental decision and which is loitering or more precisely said, socializing, gossiping or planning their next Facebook entry or Tweet?

Noise cancelling headphones are suggested in the article. Will the company purchase these? They are certainly cheaper than private workspace but if the entire workforce is wearing noise-cancelling headphones, where is the benefit of the open work space for collaboration and conducting business?

For those relegated to the open workspace, employers do provide lockers. Really? A locker is like consigning me forever to high school. I guess I can keep a mirror there to check my lipstick and a pinup of my favorite celebrity. Let’s see, should I choose Zac Efron, Bubba Watson or Justin Beiber?

The open space strategy misses the most important point of productivity: concentration and focus.It is extremely difficult to have focused concentration in open office spaces. 

As a productivity consultant, I was alarmed by the move to cubicles and now even more alarmed by the move to open spaces. A fundamental principle for high productivity is concentration. You can make to do lists, prioritize your tasks, and plan your day in detail, but unless you focus and concentrate, you won’t be productive.

Going to a gym puts you in the exercise mindset. Sitting down in a private office or at least a cubicle with high walls so you have a modicum of privacy, puts you in the productivity mindset.

With high productivity in mind, I was interested that another article appeared coincidentally on April 17, the FINS Finance blog posted an article entitled Open Offices Aren’t for Everyone.

In this article Steven Orfield, president of Orfield Laboratories, a Minneapolis-based architectural and product-research firm, said that “When you are working in an open office, your brain becomes perceptually loaded.” He added that “Working in a collaborative cubicle office is kind of like working in a call center, and call-center workers last nine months before they get out of there. When you can work better from a Starbucks than you can from your own office, that’s an issue.”  

It is a challenge to focus the mind for real work. In my time management work with companies and my coaching sessions with individuals, I find that when taking into account meetings, telephone calls, answering IM and texts, conversations with coworkers, coffee breaks, etc. people only have 2-3 hours of concentrated, productive work time per day at the most.   

To maximize this precious time, here are some rules for maximum focus and concentration:  

1. Eliminate physical distractions of all kind. This means extraneous noise and movement.  The ability to shut an office door, or hang a “Do Not Disturb’ sign on the outside wall of a cubicle wall is important to minimize distractions the distractions of people talking or walking by.
2. Work to reduce mental distractions. Mental distractions can be personal mementos sitting on your desk and pictures of your family. When the mental fatigue sets in, or you are having trouble making a decision, one glance at the memento from Mexico and you are once again on vacation for the next ½ hour.  
3. Reduce worry. Combined with the mental distractions that can be caused by office or desk trappings, many people struggle with the distraction of worry. Their internal chatter becomes a problem when they constantly have these thought passing through their minds: “I’m afraid I’ll miss the deadline.” “Do I need to check these figures again?” “Will my manager be pleased with these results?” “How detailed do I have to be on this project.” “Am I going in the right direction?” “How do I solve this problem?” To be productive, stop this mind chatter and
4. Avoid being interrupted. This means turning off the computer sound that alerts you to a new email or IM. Let your office phone go to voice mail. Turn off your smartphone. Tell others not to interrupt you, learn skills to handle the interruption and get back to work. Why? Studies show that it takes 10-15 minutes to get into a deep concentration mode – the mode where work becomes easy and your thoughts and ideas flow. If you are interrupted every 5 minutes, you’ll never get there and you’ll expend a great deal of mental effort to retrieve your thoughts and remember the mental direction you were taking.  
5. Make your tasks/decisions/problems line up one by one. It is important to discipline yourself to only let one dilemma, one question, one project occupy your mind at one time. By following the previous 4 rules, the chances of laser focus on one topic for an extended period of time is enhanced.

The benefits of creating an environment where workers can think, process information, focus, and concentrate is critical to the profitability of an organization.

After having observed people for two decades working to be productive, I weigh in on the side of a private office or a private cubicle with tall walls where people can focus and concentrate uninterrupted on the task at hand.

As you evaluate your company’s arrangement, remember that having only a chair and a desk that moves from location to location in the open office environment discourages a feeling of permanence. Your reliable worker could pick up and move to another table … in someone else’s organization. 

DOWNLOAD YOUR MANAGER’S DISCUSSION POSTER HERE

What is your experience? What techniques do you use to focus and concentrate? Write your thoughts and comments below.

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One of the Gallup organization’s continuing contributions to the world is the admonition to each individual to work from their natural talents to attain excellence.

Have you found your natural talents? Does the work you do every day permit you to use your natural talents? If not, start the search for your natural talents today. I recommend taking the Gallup organization’s Strength Finder 2.0. It is enlightening as it helps you identify your natural talents and seek a job position that permits you to use them. 

Natural talents are identified in behaviors or tasks that are easy for you or that take minimum effort for you to gain maximum exposure in a crowded field of competitors. If you are having FUN while producing an excellent product, you are probably working from your natural talents.  

As an example of natural talents, let’s take an example from my life. I like to sing, but no matter how much I studied music, practiced scales, worked to master vocal techniques, or how much money I spend on vocal lessons, I never achieved the skill level to belt out the Star Spangled Banner like Whitney Houston or sing How Great Thou Art like Carrie Underwood. I was not born with those vocal chords or the natural talent to achieve the professional level of singer and entertainer.   

Perhaps you have had a similar experience.

People who work from their natural talents produce amazing results. Bing Crosby whose songs my mother would sing when I was a child, never learned to read music. He depended on his natural ability to hear a melody and memorize it — immediately. Combine this memorization ability with his God-given gift of velvety vocal chords and you get a performer who was a favorite in the radio world from 1934 to 1954. What would Christmas be without hearing Bing Crosby sing White Christmas?

Another lesson in natural talents recently unfolded at the Masters in Augusta. Bubba Watson won the coveted green jacket with what sports writers call “his eccentric style and homemade swing.” Sports writers say he plays by feel, never having paid for a formal coach and never overanalyzing or micro-analyzing a single swing.   

It is worth the search for your natural talents because when you find them, when you do what you love and what comes easy to you, you provide excellence for your employer and you are happier at work…and in life.

Inspire all of us. Leave your comments below about how you use your natural talents to do excellent work. Tell us if you have taken the Strengths Finder 2.0 and how it has affected your level of excellence.

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Let Employees be Free to Create, Evaluate, Correct and Reconstruct

By Karla Brandau, CEO

Workplace Power Institute

I knew a mother who fixed her son’s hair every morning for school … well past his 16^th birthday.

Another mother I knew sat with her daughter every day for four hours after school as her daughter practiced the piano, correcting every note and phrase.  

These two mothers practiced what we call in the business context, helicopter management. Helicopter managers hover over employees hoping to prevent mistakes, errors, slipups, and blunders.

Helicopter management of children creates an unhealthy environment for the personal growth of the child, robbing them of the life experience of making mistakes, learning, correcting those mistakes, and becoming a more competent individual.

In a like manner, helicopter management of employees, robs the employee of career learning, flattens the employee’s learning curve, stifles creativity, and stomps on individual initiative. Helicopter management produces employees who are afraid to take action because they will get criticized or even be fired for making a human mistake. At the least, they know their manager will override their decisions.

Employees need to be free to create, evaluate, correct and reconstruct. They need to be free to make honest mistakes on their way to gaining real world experience.

Managers often anticipate perfect work from employees which is never the reality even if they hover over them, inspecting every detail, and supposedly preventing the employee from making even the smallest mistake.

Helicopter management or micromanaging might fix the problem in an emergency as the manager swoops in like EMTs in an ambulance at an accident scene. But the solution can be counterproductive if it fails to teach correct principles or ignores finding root causes for problems. Perhaps the biggest liability of micromanaging is that it creates a dependent workforce, not a critical thinking workforce that can create, evaluate, correct and reconstruct.

I have witnessed workers who knew there was a problem but took no action knowing their micromanaging manager would soon be along to take control. They were satisfied to watch the fire burn until the manager flexed her muscle.

When I was learning to be a manager, I must admit I fell into the trap of helicopter management. After I fixed a problem, I felt satisfied and thought I had been the servant of the employees, saving them from failure or keeping them on the “right” path. Nothing could have been farther from the truth. I prevented the employees from learning how to solve the problem themselves. 

The best way to train an employee is to permit the employee to take a risk, create, evaluate, correct, and reconstruct. Did we mention that the employee might even fail in the process? The failing process creates on-the-spot-learning and promotes collaboration as employees work together to find successful alternatives and viable options. 

When to Micromanage

There are some conditions that require supervision of employees. These instances include:

Monitoring the employee when the task might be just beyond the current competencies of the employee and the assignment will help the employee grow.

Checking in frequently with the employee the first time they perform tasks.

• Taking the approach of being a partner with the employee and working together if critical results are on the line

In the end, employees need the freedom to solve problems on their own. If you as a manager permit employees to experience the cycle of create, evaluate, correct and reconstruct, you’ll lose the unflattering title of micromanager. 

Need to have a discussion on this topic with your managers? Use the Micromanage No More Poster. 

You are welcome to reprint this article for in-house use as long as you also print the About Karla below. 

About Karla Brandau

Karla Brandau is an international speaker, author, and management consultant who transfers her knowledge of exceptional leadership into practices that develop productive workplaces where emotional commitment and discretionary effort flourish. Her programs encourage leaders and employees alike to grow and invest passionately in all aspects of their lives.

As CEO of Workplace Power Institute, she is dedicated to help your organization improve profitability and productivity from collaboration and conversations to practical and tactical time management techniques. 

Her newest book is The Gift: Discretionary Effort (www.karlabrandau.com/the-gift-discretionary-effort), and is the collaborative effort of Karla and her co-authors, Douglas Ross and Matthew Lee.  

Visit her at www.WorkplacePowerInstitute.com and read her Charismatic Leadership blogs at www.FromtheDeskofKarlaBrandau.com.

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These rewards were all extrinsic motivators and worked when companies had huge coffers. With diminished financial reserves and with employees becoming external reward averse, charismatic leaders are rethinking motivation and finding ways to release intrinsic motivation in employees.

In the book, The Gift: Discretionary Effort, management levers are arranged in pyramid form. The top of the pyramid is “Authentic Contribution,” the pinnacle of self-motivation and zenith of contribution to the organization. At this point, the employee works in collaboration with considerable independence and is seen as a partner in making the organization profitable and sustainable.

Autonomy Helps Employees Be Self-Motivated

As a charismatic leader, you can help employees be self-motivated and earn their discretionary effort by turning the focus of employee motivation from hard results and productivity numbers tied to rewards to employee autonomy and employee learning.  

It makes no sense to hire an employee for their skills, knowledge, and intellect, then micromanage their every move. It makes good sense to give the employee parameters, conditions and a vision of the finished product and invite the employee to share their ideas. At this point, if you feel the employee understands the project and what the end product should be, permit the employee to operate autonomously within the parameter you have set. The employees feel empowered as they exercise influence over the decisions that affect them personally, assert control over the project and make crucial decisions. Giving the employee autonomy to make decisions is a form of reward for consistent and reliable behavior.

It also provides phenomenal learning and growth experiences. I learn quickly and deeply when I need information to solve a particular problem. When employees are immersed in a project, operating autonomously and MUST have answers to challenges to complete the project, they will learn rapidly, finding viable alternatives and exploring feasible options. This learning builds competence and self-esteem.

Your reward? You will have a gift of time to focus on the future as your employees provide their own internal motivation through the opportunity to operate autonomously. The by product is retention of your best and brightest. 

How do you feel about autonomy? How much autonomy does your organization allow? Please leave your comments below. 

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My husband stood at my office doorway with a childish, almost sheepish but pleading look. It was 8:00 PM at night. “If we left now, we could be in Louisville tomorrow afternoon in time to see our favorite team play.”

What is this March Madness? It makes grown men into college fraternity boys all over. 

One TV report I watched cited research by an executive outplacement firm, Challenger Gray & Christmas. They assessed March Madness last year and found that 2.5 million people watched the games online.

This translated into about 8.4 million hours of lost productivity for the firm with about a $192 million dollar financial impact. And this does not account for the pre-tournament days when employees are filling out their brackets.

The flip side?  Workers were happier and were more productive in the hours they actually worked.

So as managers, you have a choice to make:

 1. Put a TV in the break room, ‘forget’ to monitor Internet surfing and consider March Madness a benefit for workers who have been loyal through the recession.

2. Stick to the policy of produce while you are at work.

What is your choice? How do you see March Madness? Leave your comments below and weigh in on the debate. 

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Speaker and author Barry Spilchuk writes that he has never met Pete Rose, the famous baseball player, but he taught Barry something so valuable that it changed his life.

Pete was being interviewed in spring training the year he was about to break Ty Cobb’s all time hits record.

One reporter blurted out, “Pete, you only need 78 hits to break the record. How many at-bats do you think you’ll need to get the 78 hits?” Without hesitation, Pete just stared at the reporter and very matter-of-factly said, “78.” The reporter yelled back, “Ah, come on Pete, you don’t expect to get 78 hits in 78 at-bats do you?”

Mr. Rose calmly shared his philosophy with the throngs of reporters who were anxiously awaiting his reply to this seemingly boastful claim. “Every time I step up to the plate, I expect to get a hit! If I don’t expect to get a hit, I have no right to step in the batter’s box in the first place!” “If I go up hoping to get a hit,” he continued, “then I probably don’t have a prayer to get a hit. It is a positive expectation that has gotten me all of the hits in the first place.”

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Register for a Free Winner’s Lunch and Learn Webinar on February 9 at 12:00 Noon EST to celebrate Expect Success month. 

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Imagine you were at the plate in a baseball game that could decide a championship. It is the bottom of the ninth and your team is down one run. There are two outs with a runner on second.

Do you step to the plate praying that the pitcher walks you? 

Or would you have Pete Rose’s positive expectation and step to the plate telling yourself “I was made for this moment. That ball is going outta this park.” 

Personal Applications 

In a like manner, you should go to work with the attitude that you will make it a successful day and that you will be able to handle whatever blocks or problems come your way. Never go to work expecting to get into an argument with someone or expecting to have crises blow your day away. Why? Because expectation becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

It is important to rid yourself of negative thoughts such as: “There is no way I’ll get that project done on time,” or “I know I won’t make quota.”

I’ve never seen a study, but I’d like to see figures on the hours of precious time that is wasted each day because of negative attitudes and discouragement. I’ll bet it is at least 2 hours–that’s nearly 1/3 of your focused working time. Therefore, to use the power of positive expectation to create a winning lifestyle, rid yourself of a pessimistic attitude.

One way to use the power of positive expectation to make your life better,  is to use the language of winners when you wake up in the morning. As you get out of bed, don’t say, “There is no way I’ll get that project done on time.” Instead, say, “I will get sections X and Y finished today.” Don’t say, “I know I won’t make quota.” Tell yourself , “Today I’ll make a sale and I’ll be on my way to making quota.”

By using this simple strategy of positive self-talk, you’ll be filled with determination to succeed, thus filling your mind and body with energy.  You’ll find it easy to get started on the pile of paperwork related to your project that is due next week or pick up the phone and make that first sales call for the day. Your mind will be generating creative ideas and solutions for project or sales challenges.

Charismatic leaders in today’s organizations know that they can use  the positive expectation principles to inspire their employees who may be overwhelmed with their workload or pressed for more sales.

I have provided a positive expectation tip sheet for managers to use in their next meeting. Just to go Manager’s Meeting Toolbox to download it. 

Share your Positive Expectation Story:

Tell your success story and share your positive expectation comments below. You will inspire others to aim high and go for their goals with the “I Expect Success” attitude.

Register for a Free Winner’s Lunch and Learn Webinar on February 9 at 12:00 Noon EST to celebrate Expect Success month. 

Interesting links: 

Mind Perks 

Advanced Life Skills

Positive Self-Talk

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Here are 10 tips for you to use in your meetings to inspire the Expect Success attitude and encourage your employees to use the power of positive expectation meet their deadlines, sales quotas, and stay mentally sane in our workplace where every employee faces tremendous stressors. 

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“Never Give Up” by Bonnie Bonham

By Bonnie Bonham
Winner of the 2010 Expect Success Award

“Never give up” entered my mind at the same time the polio virus attacked my body. I was just 18 months old–feverish, uncomfortable and crying.  I lived with my family in a small town in Michigan where doctors still made house calls. My doctor came by the house, checked on me in my crib and pronounced that I was cutting teeth and would feel better in a few days.  A few days later the fever subsided and I seemed to feel better.

From birth, I was a quick learner and was walking by nine months old, but when I was back to feeling better, my walking took on an unusual gait–my grandfather described, “She has the cutest little waddle.” In addition to the waddle, my parents noticed that I would fall over the minutest items on the floor. Thus began rounds of trips to doctors, eventually leading to an assessment by specialists at University of Michigan Medical Center. Their diagnosis:  Bonnie had muscular dystrophy and was not expected to live through her childhood. “Take her home, make her comfortable and wait for her to die,” the doctor said. 

My mother asked about sending me to school and they responded that it didn’t really matter. However, my mother was not ready to give up. She threw away the white chalky “medicine” that the doctors had given her, and proceeded to massage my legs daily with hot olive oil.  When I was three, my parents took me to a highly-recommended chiropractor who was gifted in diagnosis.  When I walked into his office, he immediately concluded, “This little girl had polio.”  He treated me for many years and kept me walking.  

Falling easily became a way of life for me, but I picked myself up over and over and over again and continued on my journey. I not only attended school, but excelled in all my classes and graduated from high school as a member of the national honor society.

College was difficult. These were the days before ADA and most campuses were not accessible. Although I was not a wheelchair user, I continued to walk with a polio gait, easily fell down, and struggled tremendously with climbing stairs. However, I did complete a year at a Christian college and then graduated from a college of business.

I discovered early in my job-hunting that disability discrimination existed. As I struggled from interview to interview the mantra in my mind, “Never give up,” always pressed me toward the next interview and during these first career-building years, I enjoyed some very creative positions – my favorites being a church secretary/organist and a design layout specialist for a local printing company.

However, I developed a restless spirit and an appetite for adventure.  

During Michigan winters, ice and snow were my nemesis and forced me into more seclusion than my active lifestyle demanded. I did a little research and decided that California was calling my name. I talked a girl friend into heading West with me.  

We contracted with a local Thunderbird dealer to deliver one of his cars to San Francisco.  Of course, I had to call on my “Never give up” mantra to convince my parents that I was leaving the nest.  “What if the car breaks down,” they said.  “What if you don’t get a job?”  “What if you have an accident?”  My response then and now is always that I don’t live my life on ‘what ifs’.

We settled in Whittier, California.  I got a job as a legal secretary, rented an apartment and bought a car. California was an adventure and new lifestyle. It was fun and it was challenging.  I eventually met a wonderful man; also a polio survivor and we decided to get married. 

My mother was not very supportive.  “Who will take care of you?” she asked.  “Mom, I take care of myself,” my never-give-up self responded. “We’ll be fine.” 

When a friend asked my roommate, “How will they get along?”  She ignored the innuendo, and responded, “They get along fine, that’s why they’re getting married.”

A year after our marriage, I went to the doctor to confirm my pregnancy. This wonderful doctor informed me that if I had asked, he would not have recommended that I have children, but he was fully supportive and said that we would make this work. And make it work, we did, giving birth to a hefty healthy son, David; and three years later to a beautiful little girl, Heather.

By this time, the Americans with Disabilities Act had been passed and my husband, who previously used crutches, was now a wheelchair user. I continued to walk unaided, but struggled with overall weakness.  Can you raise babies, give love and affection and keep them safe – without ever being able to lift and carry them across the room?  Yes, you can! 
But it takes a great deal of creativity and ingenuity.

With our family intact, we ventured into business as a home builder and for several years, while raising our children, we built accessible homes and advocated with cities and counties, companies and school districts to make buildings, streets and sidewalks wheelchair accessible. 

About the time the building boom in California busted, George became ill, suffering a mini-stroke. We left the building business, not knowing where life would lead. By this time, the children were in junior high school and I learned about post-polio syndrome. I began to experience new weakness and fatigue. Falling became more prevalent and dangerous so I eventually concluded that using a wheelchair was necessary. This was a difficult decision because it felt a little like giving up. However, once I made the decision, it was a gift. I could do more! I could go further! And faster!

I bought a small mail-box rental service and started on a new career and a new adventure.  This was a small community-based business and it was fun to develop it into a full-fledged office support service. 

Seven years later, I sold the business and went to work for an environmental firm that transferred me to Georgia as office manager for a new company they had bought as part of an expansion.

Now the children are grown. David has graduated from Georgia State with an IT degree and is married. Heather has moved to the Virgin Islands (she apparently inherited her mother’s craving for adventure). 

 Life is moving along rather smoothly when George, beloved husband, succumbs to myriad health problems and leaves me a widow at age 55. I was devastated. “Never give up” resonated in my mind. I almost did not allow myself to grieve for I knew that I was alone, I had to take care of myself.

My job at the environmental firm dissolved when the company over-expanded too fast. Widowed!  Unemployed!  What to do next?  Start my own business!

Working with my own business, I contracted with a non-profit organization to develop and implement the EasyLiving Home program with a goal to change the standard of construction for single-family homes to include basic access features for a better home for everyone. I developed a certification program for builders to use in marketing 
their homes. We were working with about 75 builders in Georgia and in the process of replicating the program in other states when catastrophe struck.

A pick-up truck turned directly in front of me for no apparent reason and with no opportunity to swerve or avoid the crash!  I was in hospital with a broken arm and seven other fractures throughout my body. I was already a wheelchair user. My arms, though weakened from the polio virus, were what kept me independent and a working and an
active member of society. I was helpless. This seemed more than I could handle. 

The first weeks were painful and excruciatingly difficult. I couldn’t feed myself, I couldn’t open my mail, I couldn’t perform what is known in the disability community as ADL’s – activities of daily living.  And for sure, I wasn’t able to go back to work.

Never give up, never give up, never give up. This had to be my mantra.  I just could not accept a life without activity, joy and adventure. Perhaps now the biggest adventure was getting back my independence. What followed was a year of rehabilitation. However, the problem with polio survivors is that once you have lost the use of muscle, it is very difficult, usually impossible, to get it back. 

So, after a year of rehab, I had to decide how best to move forward. It was abundantly clear that I would not get back full use of my arms.  I needed assistance in the morning and at night for bathing and dressing. Insurance, even the auto insurance, did not cover the need for long-term assistance so I had to be able to continue to support myself, including this extra expense of personal assistance.

Accepting the necessity of part-time personal assistance was a little like succumbing to the wheelchair. Now that I had assistance in the morning, getting up and dressed took much less energy than when I was totally independent. I had more energy and time for work. I went back to work with the EasyLiving Home program and continued to work with them for a couple more years.

As we all know, the downturn of the housing market played havoc with the whole economy and with EasyLiving Home totally tied to the housing market, funding evaporated.  By the beginning of 2009, we knew that closing the program was on the horizon and the program closed down in December 2009.

During this last year with the program, while a door was closing, I looked for another door to open and it has.  At 67, I am embarking on a new, exciting and promising career.

Living with a disability has never been easy, but it is my belief that everyone deals with some kind of disability.  Some are very visible and some are indiscernible. Mine has always been visible – from the time of my polio gait to being a wheelchair user.  Others are not so visible: depression, anxiety, learning disabilities and others of which we may 
not even be aware. 

When the never-give-up mantra entered my mind those many years ago, I believe that I was also given the gift of dealing with my own disability.  As difficult as it has been, I’m not sure I would trade it for someone else’s.  As difficult as it has been, I have always had the ability to find joy, happiness and adventure in this wonderful life.

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